Channel oriented modulation selection for improved spectral efficiency

ABSTRACT

Method and apparatus for channel oriented modulation selection for improved spectral efficiency. The apparatus receives an activation indication indicating an activation of a modulation selection procedure and a set of REs used for the modulation selection procedure. The activation indication indicating a first modulation for a first subset of REs within the set of REs and a second modulation for a second subset of REs within the set of REs, the first subset of REs having a higher quality than the second subset of REs. The apparatus receives downlink communication based on the modulation selection procedure.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems, andmore particularly, to a configuration for channel oriented modulationselection.

INTRODUCTION

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide varioustelecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging,and broadcasts. Typical wireless communication systems may employmultiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication withmultiple users by sharing available system resources. Examples of suchmultiple-access technologies include code division multiple access(CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequencydivision multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency divisionmultiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency divisionmultiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous codedivision multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.

These multiple access technologies have been adopted in varioustelecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enablesdifferent wireless devices to communicate on a municipal, national,regional, and even global level. An example telecommunication standardis 5G New Radio (NR). 5G NR is part of a continuous mobile broadbandevolution promulgated by Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) tomeet new requirements associated with latency, reliability, security,scalability (e.g., with Internet of Things (IoT)), and otherrequirements. 5G NR includes services associated with enhanced mobilebroadband (eMBB), massive machine type communications (mMTC), andultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC). Some aspects of 5G NRmay be based on the 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard. There existsa need for further improvements in 5G NR technology. These improvementsmay also be applicable to other multi-access technologies and thetelecommunication standards that employ these technologies.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects inorder to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary isnot an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects. This summaryneither identifies key or critical elements of all aspects nordelineates the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is topresent some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as aprelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

In an aspect of the disclosure, a method, a computer-readable medium,and an apparatus are provided. The apparatus may be a device at a UE.The device may be a processor and/or a modem at a UE or the UE itself.The apparatus receives an activation indication indicating an activationof a modulation selection procedure and a set of resource elements (REs)used for the modulation selection procedure, the activation indicationindicating a first modulation for a first subset of REs within the setof REs and a second modulation for a second subset of REs within the setof REs, the first subset of REs having a higher quality than the secondsubset of REs. The apparatus receives downlink communication based onthe modulation selection procedure.

In an aspect of the disclosure, a method, a computer-readable medium,and an apparatus are provided. The apparatus may be a device at anetwork entity. The device may be a processor and/or a modem at anetwork entity or the network entity itself. The apparatus determines toactivate a modulation selection procedure. The apparatus assigns a setof resource elements (REs) used for the modulation selection procedure,the set of REs comprising a first subset of REs within the set of REshaving a first modulation and a second subset of REs within the set ofREs having a second modulation in response to a determination toactivate the modulation selection procedure, the first modulation havinga higher modulation rate than the second modulation, the first subset ofREs having a higher quality than the second subset of REs. The apparatustransmits downlink communication based on the modulation selectionprocedure.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or moreaspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description andthe drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of theone or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, of but afew of the various ways in which the principles of various aspects maybe employed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communicationssystem and an access network.

FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating an example of a first frame, inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating an example of DL channels within asubframe, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2C is a diagram illustrating an example of a second frame, inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2D is a diagram illustrating an example of UL channels within asubframe, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a base station and userequipment (UE) in an access network.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a transmitted and areceiver, in accordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a transmitted and areceiver, in accordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 6 is a call flow diagram of signaling between a UE and a basestation.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method of wireless communication.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a method of wireless communication.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementationfor an example apparatus and/or network entity.

FIG. 10 . is a flowchart of a method of wireless communication.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a method of wireless communication.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for an example network entity.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In wireless communications, a UE may report channel state information(CSI) to a base station so that the base station may maximizethroughput. The UE may also report to the base station the RB having thehighest quality for downlink. In wireless communications, such as NR,high bands may be time division duplexed (TDD) for FR1 and FR2. A commonassumption for TDD is a high reciprocity between the uplink and thedownlink channels. In instances where high reciprocity is obtained, thebase station may estimate the UE downlink channel response by estimatingthe UE uplink channel response seen on the SRS. Algorithm optimizationsmay be achieved in instances where the UE has a high signal to noiseratio (SNR) and a quality downlink channel estimation.

Aspects presented herein provide for algorithm optimizations between theUE and the base station. The UE may be configured to report to the basestation the lowest quality REs and the highest quality REs, such thatthe base station may use the lowest and highest quality REs at differentmodulations. In addition, a modulation selection procedure may identifyREs with the lowest/highest channel at the UE based on a channelresponse without the UE reporting the lowest/highest quality REs.

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the drawingsdescribes various configurations and does not represent the onlyconfigurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced.The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose ofproviding a thorough understanding of various concepts. However, theseconcepts may be practiced without these specific details. In someinstances, well known structures and components are shown in blockdiagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

Several aspects of telecommunication systems are presented withreference to various apparatus and methods. These apparatus and methodsare described in the following detailed description and illustrated inthe accompanying drawings by various blocks, components, circuits,processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as “elements”).These elements may be implemented using electronic hardware, computersoftware, or any combination thereof. Whether such elements areimplemented as hardware or software depends upon the particularapplication and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

By way of example, an element, or any portion of an element, or anycombination of elements may be implemented as a “processing system” thatincludes one or more processors. Examples of processors includemicroprocessors, microcontrollers, graphics processing units (GPUs),central processing units (CPUs), application processors, digital signalprocessors (DSPs), reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors,systems on a chip (SoC), baseband processors, field programmable gatearrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gatedlogic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardwareconfigured to perform the various functionality described throughoutthis disclosure. One or more processors in the processing system mayexecute software. Software, whether referred to as software, firmware,middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise,shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code,code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software components,applications, software applications, software packages, routines,subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures,functions, or any combination thereof.

Accordingly, in one or more example aspects, implementations, and/or usecases, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software,or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functionsmay be stored on or encoded as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes computerstorage media. Storage media may be any available media that can beaccessed by a computer. By way of example, such computer-readable mediacan comprise a random-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), anelectrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), optical disk storage,magnetic disk storage, other magnetic storage devices, combinations ofthe types of computer-readable media, or any other medium that can beused to store computer executable code in the form of instructions ordata structures that can be accessed by a computer.

While aspects, implementations, and/or use cases are described in thisapplication by illustration to some examples, additional or differentaspects, implementations and/or use cases may come about in manydifferent arrangements and scenarios. Aspects, implementations, and/oruse cases described herein may be implemented across many differingplatform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes, and packagingarrangements. For example, aspects, implementations, and/or use casesmay come about via integrated chip implementations and othernon-module-component based devices (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles,communication devices, computing devices, industrial equipment,retail/purchasing devices, medical devices, artificial intelligence(AI)-enabled devices, etc.). While some examples may or may not bespecifically directed to use cases or applications, a wide assortment ofapplicability of described examples may occur. Aspects, implementations,and/or use cases may range a spectrum from chip-level or modularcomponents to non-modular, non-chip-level implementations and further toaggregate, distributed, or original equipment manufacturer (OEM) devicesor systems incorporating one or more techniques herein. In somepractical settings, devices incorporating described aspects and featuresmay also include additional components and features for implementationand practice of claimed and described aspect. For example, transmissionand reception of wireless signals necessarily includes a number ofcomponents for analog and digital purposes (e.g., hardware componentsincluding antenna, RF-chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffer,processor(s), interleaver, adders/summers, etc.). Techniques describedherein may be practiced in a wide variety of devices, chip-levelcomponents, systems, distributed arrangements, aggregated ordisaggregated components, end-user devices, etc. of varying sizes,shapes, and constitution.

Deployment of communication systems, such as 5G NR systems, may bearranged in multiple manners with various components or constituentparts. In a 5G NR system, or network, a network node, a network entity,a mobility element of a network, a radio access network (RAN) node, acore network node, a network element, or a network equipment, such as abase station (BS), or one or more units (or one or more components)performing base station functionality, may be implemented in anaggregated or disaggregated architecture. For example, a BS (such as aNode B (NB), evolved NB (eNB), NR BS, 5G NB, access point (AP), atransmit receive point (TRP), or a cell, etc.) may be implemented as anaggregated base station (also known as a standalone BS or a monolithicBS) or a disaggregated base station.

An aggregated base station may be configured to utilize a radio protocolstack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RANnode. A disaggregated base station may be configured to utilize aprotocol stack that is physically or logically distributed among two ormore units (such as one or more central or centralized units (CUs), oneor more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs)). Insome aspects, a CU may be implemented within a RAN node, and one or moreDUs may be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, may begeographically or virtually distributed throughout one or multiple otherRAN nodes. The DUs may be implemented to communicate with one or moreRUs. Each of the CU, DU and RU can be implemented as virtual units,i.e., a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), ora virtual radio unit (VRU).

Base station operation or network design may consider aggregationcharacteristics of base station functionality. For example,disaggregated base stations may be utilized in an integrated accessbackhaul (IAB) network, an open radio access network (O-RAN (such as thenetwork configuration sponsored by the O-RAN Alliance)), or avirtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radioaccess network (C-RAN)). Disaggregation may include distributingfunctionality across two or more units at various physical locations, aswell as distributing functionality for at least one unit virtually,which can enable flexibility in network design. The various units of thedisaggregated base station, or disaggregated RAN architecture, can beconfigured for wired or wireless communication with at least one otherunit.

FIG. 1 is a diagram 100 illustrating an example of a wirelesscommunications system and an access network. The illustrated wirelesscommunications system includes a disaggregated base stationarchitecture. The disaggregated base station architecture may includeone or more CUs 110 that can communicate directly with a core network120 via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 120 throughone or more disaggregated base station units (such as a Near-Real Time(Near-RT) RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) 125 via an E2 link, or aNon-Real Time (Non-RT) RIC 115 associated with a Service Management andOrchestration (SMO) Framework 105, or both). A CU 110 may communicatewith one or more DUs 130 via respective midhaul links, such as an F1interface. The DUs 130 may communicate with one or more RUs 140 viarespective fronthaul links. The RUs 140 may communicate with respectiveUEs 104 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In someimplementations, the UE 104 may be simultaneously served by multiple RUs140.

Each of the units, i.e., the CUs 110, the DUs 130, the RUs 140, as wellas the Near-RT RICs 125, the Non-RT RICs 115, and the SMO Framework 105,may include one or more interfaces or be coupled to one or moreinterfaces configured to receive or to transmit signals, data, orinformation (collectively, signals) via a wired or wireless transmissionmedium. Each of the units, or an associated processor or controllerproviding instructions to the communication interfaces of the units, canbe configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via thetransmission medium. For example, the units can include a wiredinterface configured to receive or to transmit signals over a wiredtransmission medium to one or more of the other units. Additionally, theunits can include a wireless interface, which may include a receiver, atransmitter, or a transceiver (such as an RF transceiver), configured toreceive or to transmit signals, or both, over a wireless transmissionmedium to one or more of the other units.

In some aspects, the CU 110 may host one or more higher layer controlfunctions. Such control functions can include radio resource control(RRC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), service data adaptationprotocol (SDAP), or the like. Each control function can be implementedwith an interface configured to communicate signals with other controlfunctions hosted by the CU 110. The CU 110 may be configured to handleuser plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit-User Plane (CU-UP)),control plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit-Control Plane (CU-CP)),or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the CU 110 can belogically split into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CPunits. The CU-UP unit can communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CPunit via an interface, such as an E1 interface when implemented in anO-RAN configuration. The CU 110 can be implemented to communicate withthe DU 130, as necessary, for network control and signaling.

The DU 130 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or morebase station functions to control the operation of one or more RUs 140.In some aspects, the DU 130 may host one or more of a radio link control(RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and one or more highphysical (PHY) layers (such as modules for forward error correction(FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation, demodulation, orthe like) depending, at least in part, on a functional split, such asthose defined by 3GPP. In some aspects, the DU 130 may further host oneor more low PHY layers. Each layer (or module) can be implemented withan interface configured to communicate signals with other layers (andmodules) hosted by the DU 130, or with the control functions hosted bythe CU 110.

Lower-layer functionality can be implemented by one or more RUs 140. Insome deployments, an RU 140, controlled by a DU 130, may correspond to alogical node that hosts RF processing functions, or low-PHY layerfunctions (such as performing fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse FFT(iFFT), digital beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH)extraction and filtering, or the like), or both, based at least in parton the functional split, such as a lower layer functional split. In suchan architecture, the RU(s) 140 can be implemented to handle over the air(OTA) communication with one or more UEs 104. In some implementations,real-time and non-real-time aspects of control and user planecommunication with the RU(s) 140 can be controlled by the correspondingDU 130. In some scenarios, this configuration can enable the DU(s) 130and the CU 110 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture, suchas a vRAN architecture.

The SMO Framework 105 may be configured to support RAN deployment andprovisioning of non-virtualized and virtualized network elements. Fornon-virtualized network elements, the SMO Framework 105 may beconfigured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources forRAN coverage requirements that may be managed via an operations andmaintenance interface (such as an O1 interface). For virtualized networkelements, the SMO Framework 105 may be configured to interact with acloud computing platform (such as an open cloud (O-Cloud) 190) toperform network element life cycle management (such as to instantiatevirtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface(such as an O2 interface). Such virtualized network elements caninclude, but are not limited to, CUs 110, DUs 130, RUs 140 and Near-RTRICs 125. In some implementations, the SMO Framework 105 can communicatewith a hardware aspect of a 4G RAN, such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 111, viaan O1 interface. Additionally, in some implementations, the SMOFramework 105 can communicate directly with one or more RUs 140 via anO1 interface. The SMO Framework 105 also may include a Non-RT RIC 115configured to support functionality of the SMO Framework 105.

The Non-RT RIC 115 may be configured to include a logical function thatenables non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements andresources, artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) (AI/ML)workflows including model training and updates, or policy-based guidanceof applications/features in the Near-RT RIC 125. The Non-RT RIC 115 maybe coupled to or communicate with (such as via an AI interface) theNear-RT RIC 125. The Near-RT RIC 125 may be configured to include alogical function that enables near-real-time control and optimization ofRAN elements and resources via data collection and actions over aninterface (such as via an E2 interface) connecting one or more CUs 110,one or more DUs 130, or both, as well as an O-eNB, with the Near-RT RIC125.

In some implementations, to generate AI/ML models to be deployed in theNear-RT RIC 125, the Non-RT RIC 115 may receive parameters or externalenrichment information from external servers. Such information may beutilized by the Near-RT RIC 125 and may be received at the SMO Framework105 or the Non-RT RIC 115 from non-network data sources or from networkfunctions. In some examples, the Non-RT RIC 115 or the Near-RT RIC 125may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, theNon-RT RIC 115 may monitor long-term trends and patterns for performanceand employ AI/ML models to perform corrective actions through the SMOFramework 105 (such as reconfiguration via O1) or via creation of RANmanagement policies (such as A1 policies).

At least one of the CU 110, the DU 130, and the RU 140 may be referredto as a base station 102. Accordingly, a base station 102 may includeone or more of the CU 110, the DU 130, and the RU 140 (each componentindicated with dotted lines to signify that each component may or maynot be included in the base station 102). The base station 102 providesan access point to the core network 120 for a UE 104. The base stations102 may include macrocells (high power cellular base station) and/orsmall cells (low power cellular base station). The small cells includefemtocells, picocells, and microcells. A network that includes bothsmall cell and macrocells may be known as a heterogeneous network. Aheterogeneous network may also include Home Evolved Node Bs (eNBs)(HeNBs), which may provide service to a restricted group known as aclosed subscriber group (CSG). The communication links between the RUs140 and the UEs 104 may include uplink (UL) (also referred to as reverselink) transmissions from a UE 104 to an RU 140 and/or downlink (DL)(also referred to as forward link) transmissions from an RU 140 to a UE104. The communication links may use multiple-input and multiple-output(MIMO) antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming,and/or transmit diversity. The communication links may be through one ormore carriers. The base stations 102/UEs 104 may use spectrum up to YMHz (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100, 400, etc. MHz) bandwidth per carrierallocated in a carrier aggregation of up to a total of Yx MHz (xcomponent carriers) used for transmission in each direction. Thecarriers may or may not be adjacent to each other. Allocation ofcarriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (e.g., more orfewer carriers may be allocated for DL than for UL). The componentcarriers may include a primary component carrier and one or moresecondary component carriers. A primary component carrier may bereferred to as a primary cell (PCell) and a secondary component carriermay be referred to as a secondary cell (SCell).

Certain UEs 104 may communicate with each other using device-to-device(D2D) communication link 158. The D2D communication link 158 may use theDL/UL wireless wide area network (WWAN) spectrum. The D2D communicationlink 158 may use one or more sidelink channels, such as a physicalsidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink discoverychannel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and aphysical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). D2D communication may bethrough a variety of wireless D2D communications systems, such as forexample, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi based on the Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, LTE, or NR.

The wireless communications system may further include a Wi-Fi AP 150 incommunication with UEs 104 (also referred to as Wi-Fi stations (STAs))via communication link 154, e.g., in a 5 GHz unlicensed frequencyspectrum or the like. When communicating in an unlicensed frequencyspectrum, the UEs 104/AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment(CCA) prior to communicating in order to determine whether the channelis available.

The electromagnetic spectrum is often subdivided, based onfrequency/wavelength, into various classes, bands, channels, etc. In 5GNR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency rangedesignations FR1 (410 MHz-7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz-52.6 GHz).Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often referredto (interchangeably) as a “sub-6 GHz” band in various documents andarticles. A similar nomenclature issue sometimes occurs with regard toFR2, which is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “millimeter wave”band in documents and articles, despite being different from theextremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz-300 GHz) which is identifiedby the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as a “millimeterwave” band.

The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as mid-bandfrequencies. Recent 5G NR studies have identified an operating band forthese mid-band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125GHz-24.25 GHz). Frequency bands falling within FR3 may inherit FR1characteristics and/or FR2 characteristics, and thus may effectivelyextend features of FR1 and/or FR2 into mid-band frequencies. Inaddition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operatingbands have been identified as frequency range designations FR2-2 (52.6GHz-71 GHz), FR4 (71 GHz-114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz-300 GHz). Eachof these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

With the above aspects in mind, unless specifically stated otherwise,the term “sub-6 GHz” or the like if used herein may broadly representfrequencies that may be less than 6 GHz, may be within FR1, or mayinclude mid-band frequencies. Further, unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “millimeter wave” or the like if used herein maybroadly represent frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, maybe within FR2, FR4, FR2-2, and/or FR5, or may be within the EHF band.

The base station 102 and the UE 104 may each include a plurality ofantennas, such as antenna elements, antenna panels, and/or antennaarrays to facilitate beamforming. The base station 102 may transmit abeamformed signal 182 to the UE 104 in one or more transmit directions.The UE 104 may receive the beamformed signal from the base station 102in one or more receive directions. The UE 104 may also transmit abeamformed signal 184 to the base station 102 in one or more transmitdirections. The base station 102 may receive the beamformed signal fromthe UE 104 in one or more receive directions. The base station 102/UE104 may perform beam training to determine the best receive and transmitdirections for each of the base station 102/UE 104. The transmit andreceive directions for the base station 102 may or may not be the same.The transmit and receive directions for the UE 104 may or may not be thesame.

The base station 102 may include and/or be referred to as a gNB, Node B,eNB, an access point, a base transceiver station, a radio base station,a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS),an extended service set (ESS), a transmit reception point (TRP), networknode, network entity, network equipment, or some other suitableterminology. The base station 102 can be implemented as an integratedaccess and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay node, a sidelink node, anaggregated (monolithic) base station with a baseband unit (BBU)(including a CU and a DU) and an RU, or as a disaggregated base stationincluding one or more of a CU, a DU, and/or an RU. The set of basestations, which may include disaggregated base stations and/oraggregated base stations, may be referred to as next generation (NG) RAN(NG-RAN).

The core network 120 may include an Access and Mobility ManagementFunction (AMF) 161, a Session Management Function (SMF) 162, a UserPlane Function (UPF) 163, a Unified Data Management (UDM) 164, one ormore location servers 168, and other functional entities. The AMF 161 isthe control node that processes the signaling between the UEs 104 andthe core network 120. The AMF 161 supports registration management,connection management, mobility management, and other functions. The SMF162 supports session management and other functions. The UPF 163supports packet routing, packet forwarding, and other functions. The UDM164 supports the generation of authentication and key agreement (AKA)credentials, user identification handling, access authorization, andsubscription management. The one or more location servers 168 areillustrated as including a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 165 anda Location Management Function (LMF) 166. However, generally, the one ormore location servers 168 may include one or more location/positioningservers, which may include one or more of the GMLC 165, the LMF 166, aposition determination entity (PDE), a serving mobile location center(SMLC), a mobile positioning center (MPC), or the like. The GMLC 165 andthe LMF 166 support UE location services. The GMLC 165 provides aninterface for clients/applications (e.g., emergency services) foraccessing UE positioning information. The LMF 166 receives measurementsand assistance information from the NG-RAN and the UE 104 via the AMF161 to compute the position of the UE 104. The NG-RAN may utilize one ormore positioning methods in order to determine the position of the UE104. Positioning the UE 104 may involve signal measurements, a positionestimate, and an optional velocity computation based on themeasurements. The signal measurements may be made by the UE 104 and/orthe serving base station 102. The signals measured may be based on oneor more of a satellite positioning system (SPS) 170 (e.g., one or moreof a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), global position system(GPS), non-terrestrial network (NTN), or other satelliteposition/location system), LTE signals, wireless local area network(WLAN) signals, Bluetooth signals, a terrestrial beacon system (TBS),sensor-based information (e.g., barometric pressure sensor, motionsensor), NR enhanced cell ID (NR E-CID) methods, NR signals (e.g.,multi-round trip time (Multi-RTT), DL angle-of-departure (DL-AoD), DLtime difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), UL time difference of arrival(UL-TDOA), and UL angle-of-arrival (UL-AoA) positioning), and/or othersystems/signals/sensors.

Examples of UEs 104 include a cellular phone, a smart phone, a sessioninitiation protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a satellite radio, a global positioning system, a multimediadevice, a video device, a digital audio player (e.g., MP3 player), acamera, a game console, a tablet, a smart device, a wearable device, avehicle, an electric meter, a gas pump, a large or small kitchenappliance, a healthcare device, an implant, a sensor/actuator, adisplay, or any other similar functioning device. Some of the UEs 104may be referred to as IoT devices (e.g., parking meter, gas pump,toaster, vehicles, heart monitor, etc.). The UE 104 may also be referredto as a station, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit,a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, awireless device, a wireless communications device, a remote device, amobile subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, awireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobileclient, a client, or some other suitable terminology. In some scenarios,the term UE may also apply to one or more companion devices such as in adevice constellation arrangement. One or more of these devices maycollectively access the network and/or individually access the network.

Referring again to FIG. 1 , in certain aspects, the UE 104 may comprisean activation component 198 configured to receive an activationindication indicating an activation of a modulation selection procedureand a set of REs used for the modulation selection procedure, theactivation indication indicating a first modulation for a first subsetof REs within the set of REs and a second modulation for a second subsetof REs within the set of REs, the first subset of REs having a higherquality than the second subset of REs; and receive downlinkcommunication based on the modulation selection procedure.

Referring again to FIG. 1 , in certain aspects, the base station 102 maycomprise a selection component 199 configured to determine to activate amodulation selection procedure; assign a set of REs used for themodulation selection procedure, the set of REs comprising a first subsetof REs within the set of REs having a first modulation and a secondsubset of REs within the set of REs having a second modulation inresponse to a determination to activate the modulation selectionprocedure, the first modulation having a higher modulation rate than thesecond modulation, the first subset of REs having a higher quality thanthe second subset of REs; and transmit downlink communication based onthe modulation selection procedure.

Although the following description may be focused on 5G NR, the conceptsdescribed herein may be applicable to other similar areas, such as LTE,LTE-A, CDMA, GSM, and other wireless technologies.

FIG. 2A is a diagram 200 illustrating an example of a first subframewithin a 5G NR frame structure. FIG. 2B is a diagram 230 illustrating anexample of DL channels within a 5G NR subframe. FIG. 2C is a diagram 250illustrating an example of a second subframe within a 5G NR framestructure. FIG. 2D is a diagram 280 illustrating an example of ULchannels within a 5G NR subframe. The 5G NR frame structure may befrequency division duplexed (FDD) in which for a particular set ofsubcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), subframes within the set ofsubcarriers are dedicated for either DL or UL, or may be time divisionduplexed (TDD) in which for a particular set of subcarriers (carriersystem bandwidth), subframes within the set of subcarriers are dedicatedfor both DL and UL. In the examples provided by FIGS. 2A, 2C, the 5G NRframe structure is assumed to be TDD, with subframe 4 being configuredwith slot format 28 (with mostly DL), where D is DL, U is UL, and F isflexible for use between DL/UL, and subframe 3 being configured withslot format 1 (with all UL). While subframes 3, 4 are shown with slotformats 1, 28, respectively, any particular subframe may be configuredwith any of the various available slot formats 0-61. Slot formats 0, 1are all DL, UL, respectively. Other slot formats 2-61 include a mix ofDL, UL, and flexible symbols. UEs are configured with the slot format(dynamically through DL control information (DCI), orsemi-statically/statically through radio resource control (RRC)signaling) through a received slot format indicator (SFI). Note that thedescription infra applies also to a 5G NR frame structure that is TDD.

FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate a frame structure, and the aspects of the presentdisclosure may be applicable to other wireless communicationtechnologies, which may have a different frame structure and/ordifferent channels. A frame (10 ms) may be divided into 10 equally sizedsubframes (1 ms). Each subframe may include one or more time slots.Subframes may also include mini-slots, which may include 7, 4, or 2symbols. Each slot may include 14 or 12 symbols, depending on whetherthe cyclic prefix (CP) is normal or extended. For normal CP, each slotmay include 14 symbols, and for extended CP, each slot may include 12symbols. The symbols on DL may be CP orthogonal frequency divisionmultiplexing (OFDM) (CP-OFDM) symbols. The symbols on UL may be CP-OFDMsymbols (for high throughput scenarios) or discrete Fourier transform(DFT) spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbols (also referred to as singlecarrier frequency-division multiple access (SC-FDMA) symbols) (for powerlimited scenarios; limited to a single stream transmission). The numberof slots within a subframe is based on the CP and the numerology. Thenumerology defines the subcarrier spacing (SCS) and, effectively, thesymbol length/duration, which is equal to 1/SCS.

SCS Cyclic μ Δf = 2^(μ) · 15[kHz] prefix 0 15 Normal 1 30 Normal 2 60Normal, Extended 3 120 Normal 4 240 Normal

For normal CP (14 symbols/slot), different numerologies μ 0 to 4 allowfor 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 slots, respectively, per subframe. For extendedCP, the numerology 2 allows for 4 slots per subframe. Accordingly, fornormal CP and numerology μ, there are 14 symbols/slot and 2^(μ)slots/subframe. The subcarrier spacing may be equal to 2^(μ)*15 kHz,where μ is the numerology 0 to 4. As such, the numerology μ=0 has asubcarrier spacing of 15 kHz and the numerology μ=4 has a subcarrierspacing of 240 kHz. The symbol length/duration is inversely related tothe subcarrier spacing. FIGS. 2A-2D provide an example of normal CP with14 symbols per slot and numerology μ=2 with 4 slots per subframe. Theslot duration is 0.25 ms, the subcarrier spacing is 60 kHz, and thesymbol duration is approximately 16.67 μs. Within a set of frames, theremay be one or more different bandwidth parts (BWPs) (see FIG. 2B) thatare frequency division multiplexed. Each BWP may have a particularnumerology and CP (normal or extended).

A resource grid may be used to represent the frame structure. Each timeslot includes a resource block (RB) (also referred to as physical RBs(PRBs)) that extends 12 consecutive subcarriers. The resource grid isdivided into multiple resource elements (REs). The number of bitscarried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

As illustrated in FIG. 2A, some of the REs carry reference (pilot)signals (RS) for the UE. The RS may include demodulation RS (DM-RS)(indicated as R for one particular configuration, but other DM-RSconfigurations are possible) and channel state information referencesignals (CSI-RS) for channel estimation at the UE. The RS may alsoinclude beam measurement RS (BRS), beam refinement RS (BRRS), and phasetracking RS (PT-RS).

FIG. 2B illustrates an example of various DL channels within a subframeof a frame. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries DCIwithin one or more control channel elements (CCEs) (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 8, or16 CCEs), each CCE including six RE groups (REGs), each REG including 12consecutive REs in an OFDM symbol of an RB. A PDCCH within one BWP maybe referred to as a control resource set (CORESET). A UE is configuredto monitor PDCCH candidates in a PDCCH search space (e.g., common searchspace, UE-specific search space) during PDCCH monitoring occasions onthe CORESET, where the PDCCH candidates have different DCI formats anddifferent aggregation levels. Additional BWPs may be located at greaterand/or lower frequencies across the channel bandwidth. A primarysynchronization signal (PSS) may be within symbol 2 of particularsubframes of a frame. The PSS is used by a UE 104 to determinesubframe/symbol timing and a physical layer identity. A secondarysynchronization signal (SSS) may be within symbol 4 of particularsubframes of a frame. The SSS is used by a UE to determine a physicallayer cell identity group number and radio frame timing. Based on thephysical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity groupnumber, the UE can determine a physical cell identifier (PCI). Based onthe PCI, the UE can determine the locations of the DM-RS. The physicalbroadcast channel (PBCH), which carries a master information block(MIB), may be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form asynchronization signal (SS)/PBCH block (also referred to as SS block(SSB)). The MIB provides a number of RBs in the system bandwidth and asystem frame number (SFN). The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)carries user data, broadcast system information not transmitted throughthe PBCH such as system information blocks (SIBs), and paging messages.

As illustrated in FIG. 2C, some of the REs carry DM-RS (indicated as Rfor one particular configuration, but other DM-RS configurations arepossible) for channel estimation at the base station. The UE maytransmit DM-RS for the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and DM-RSfor the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The PUSCH DM-RS may betransmitted in the first one or two symbols of the PUSCH. The PUCCHDM-RS may be transmitted in different configurations depending onwhether short or long PUCCHs are transmitted and depending on theparticular PUCCH format used. The UE may transmit sounding referencesignals (SRS). The SRS may be transmitted in the last symbol of asubframe. The SRS may have a comb structure, and a UE may transmit SRSon one of the combs. The SRS may be used by a base station for channelquality estimation to enable frequency-dependent scheduling on the UL.

FIG. 2D illustrates an example of various UL channels within a subframeof a frame. The PUCCH may be located as indicated in one configuration.The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as schedulingrequests, a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrixindicator (PMI), a rank indicator (RI), and hybrid automatic repeatrequest (HARQ) acknowledgment (ACK) (HARQ-ACK) feedback (i.e., one ormore HARQ ACK bits indicating one or more ACK and/or negative ACK(NACK)). The PUSCH carries data, and may additionally be used to carry abuffer status report (BSR), a power headroom report (PHR), and/or UCI.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a base station 310 in communication with aUE 350 in an access network. In the DL, Internet protocol (IP) packetsmay be provided to a controller/processor 375. The controller/processor375 implements layer 3 and layer 2 functionality. Layer 3 includes aradio resource control (RRC) layer, and layer 2 includes a service dataadaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, a packet data convergence protocol(PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a medium accesscontrol (MAC) layer. The controller/processor 375 provides RRC layerfunctionality associated with broadcasting of system information (e.g.,MIB, SIBs), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRCconnection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRCconnection release), inter radio access technology (RAT) mobility, andmeasurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layerfunctionality associated with header compression/decompression, security(ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification),and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated withthe transfer of upper layer packet data units (PDUs), error correctionthrough ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC servicedata units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering ofRLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mappingbetween logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MACSDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs,scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ,priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

The transmit (TX) processor 316 and the receive (RX) processor 370implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signalprocessing functions. Layer 1, which includes a physical (PHY) layer,may include error detection on the transport channels, forward errorcorrection (FEC) coding/decoding of the transport channels,interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto physical channels,modulation/demodulation of physical channels, and MIMO antennaprocessing. The TX processor 316 handles mapping to signalconstellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binaryphase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK),M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation(M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split intoparallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an OFDM subcarrier,multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and/orfrequency domain, and then combined together using an Inverse FastFourier Transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a timedomain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM stream is spatially precoded toproduce multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channelestimator 374 may be used to determine the coding and modulation scheme,as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimate may be derivedfrom a reference signal and/or channel condition feedback transmitted bythe UE 350. Each spatial stream may then be provided to a differentantenna 320 via a separate transmitter 318Tx. Each transmitter 318Tx maymodulate a radio frequency (RF) carrier with a respective spatial streamfor transmission.

At the UE 350, each receiver 354Rx receives a signal through itsrespective antenna 352. Each receiver 354Rx recovers informationmodulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to the receive(RX) processor 356. The TX processor 368 and the RX processor 356implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signalprocessing functions. The RX processor 356 may perform spatialprocessing on the information to recover any spatial streams destinedfor the UE 350. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 350,they may be combined by the RX processor 356 into a single OFDM symbolstream. The RX processor 356 then converts the OFDM symbol stream fromthe time-domain to the frequency domain using a Fast Fourier Transform(FFT). The frequency domain signal comprises a separate OFDM symbolstream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on eachsubcarrier, and the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated bydetermining the most likely signal constellation points transmitted bythe base station 310. These soft decisions may be based on channelestimates computed by the channel estimator 358. The soft decisions arethen decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signalsthat were originally transmitted by the base station 310 on the physicalchannel. The data and control signals are then provided to thecontroller/processor 359, which implements layer 3 and layer 2functionality.

The controller/processor 359 can be associated with a memory 360 thatstores program codes and data. The memory 360 may be referred to as acomputer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller/processor 359provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packetreassembly, deciphering, header decompression, and control signalprocessing to recover IP packets. The controller/processor 359 is alsoresponsible for error detection using an ACK and/or NACK protocol tosupport HARQ operations.

Similar to the functionality described in connection with the DLtransmission by the base station 310, the controller/processor 359provides RRC layer functionality associated with system information(e.g., MIB, SIBs) acquisition, RRC connections, and measurementreporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with headercompression/decompression, and security (ciphering, deciphering,integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionalityassociated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correctionthrough ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs,re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; andMAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channelsand transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto TBs,demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting,error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channelprioritization.

Channel estimates derived by a channel estimator 358 from a referencesignal or feedback transmitted by the base station 310 may be used bythe TX processor 368 to select the appropriate coding and modulationschemes, and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streamsgenerated by the TX processor 368 may be provided to different antenna352 via separate transmitters 354Tx. Each transmitter 354Tx may modulatean RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

The UL transmission is processed at the base station 310 in a mannersimilar to that described in connection with the receiver function atthe UE 350. Each receiver 318Rx receives a signal through its respectiveantenna 320. Each receiver 318Rx recovers information modulated onto anRF carrier and provides the information to a RX processor 370.

The controller/processor 375 can be associated with a memory 376 thatstores program codes and data. The memory 376 may be referred to as acomputer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller/processor 375provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packetreassembly, deciphering, header decompression, control signal processingto recover IP packets. The controller/processor 375 is also responsiblefor error detection using an ACK and/or NACK protocol to support HARQoperations.

At least one of the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and thecontroller/processor 359 may be configured to perform aspects inconnection with the activation component 198 of FIG. 1 .

At least one of the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and thecontroller/processor 375 may be configured to perform aspects inconnection with the selection component 199 of FIG. 1 .

In wireless communications, a UE may report CSI to a base station sothat the base station may maximize throughput. The CSI may be widebandor narrowband with a common MCS per transport block. The UE may alsoreport to the base station the RB having the highest quality fordownlink.

In wireless communications, such as NR, high bands may be TDD for FR1and FR2. A common assumption for TDD is a high reciprocity between theuplink and the downlink channels. In instances where high reciprocity isobtained, the base station may estimate the UE downlink channel responseby estimating the UE uplink channel response seen on the SRS. Ininstances where channel reciprocity is not present, the downlink channelmay be sent by the UE via a CSF report. Algorithm optimizations may beachieved in instances where the UE has a high signal to noise ratio(SNR) and a quality downlink channel estimation.

Aspects presented herein provide a configuration for channel orientedmodulation selection. The aspects presented herein may provide foralgorithm optimizations between the UE and the base station. The UE maybe configured to report to the base station the lowest quality REs andthe highest quality REs, such that the base station may use the lowestand highest quality REs at different modulations. For example, thelowest/highest quality REs may have a lower/higher modulation than themodulation indicated in a DCI for the current PDSCH. In addition, amodulation selection procedure may identify REs with the lowest/highestchannel at the UE based on a channel response without the UE reportingthe lowest/highest quality REs. At least one advantage of the disclosureis that channel oriented modulation selection may enhance spectralefficiency by handling spurs or other impairments within a PDSCHallocation.

FIG. 4 is a diagram 400 illustrating an example of a transmitted and areceiver, in accordance with aspects presented herein. The diagramincludes an example of a transmitter 402 and a receiver 420. Thetransmitter 402 may receive a report 404 from the UE, where the reportindicates the best and worst REs from a set of REs. The transmitter 402may determine whether to apply a dynamic modulation procedure 406 inresponse to the report (e.g., CSF) 404. The transmitter may performmodulation 408 to generate modulated data 410. The modulated data 410may be modulated based on the dynamic modulation. The transmitter maythen perform a mapping 412 of the data, and prepare the data fortransmission 414 to the receiver 420.

The receiver 420, may receive data at receiver 422. The receiver 420 mayreceive a reference signal 426 (e.g., DMRS, CSI-RS) to perform a channelestimation 428. The receiver may, at 430, find the best and worst REsfrom a set of REs based on the reference signal 426. The receiver mayreport (e.g., 404) the best and worst REs to the transmitter 402. Thereceiver 420, at 424, may determine if dynamic modulation is active. Insome instances, the receiver 420 may receive an indication from thetransmitter indicating that the dynamic modulation is active. Thedynamic modulation may be activated based on the report (e.g., 404)indicating the best and worst REs. At 434, the receiver may demap thereceived data using dynamic modulation, if active. In instances wherethe dynamic modulation is active, the best/worst REs may have ahigher/lower modulation than that indicated within a DCI of PDSCH 432.The receiver, at 436, may than decode the data based on the dynamicmodulation.

FIG. 5 is a diagram 500 illustrating an example of a transmitted and areceiver, in accordance with aspects presented herein. The diagramincludes an example of a transmitter 502 and a receiver 520. Thetransmitter 502 may receive a UE transmission 504. Based on thetransmission 504, the transmitter 502 may, at 506 or 508, estimate adownlink channel. The transmitter, at 506, may estimate the downlinkchannel based on a SRS. The transmitter, at 508, may estimate thedownlink channel based on a CSF report from the receiver 520. Thetransmitter, at 510, may determine to apply dynamic modulation. Dynamicmodulation may be applied based on the SRS or the CSF. The transmittermay perform modulation 512 to generate modulated data 514. The modulateddata 514 may be modulated based on the dynamic modulation. Thetransmitter may then perform a mapping 516 of the data, and prepare thedata for transmission 518 to the receiver 520.

The receiver 520, may receive data at receiver 522. The receiver 520, at524, may determine if dynamic modulation is active. The receiver 520 mayreceive a reference signal from the transmitter 502. The receiver maytransmit, to the transmitter, a CSF report based on the referencesignal. In some instances, the receiver may transmit an SRS, to thetransmitter, to allow the transmitter to perform channel estimation ofthe downlink channel. The receiver 520 may receive an indication fromthe transmitter 502 indicating that the dynamic modulation is active.Receipt of the indication may be based on the CSF or the SRS transmittedby the receiver. The receiver may receive a DMRS 526 in order to performchannel estimation 528. The receiver may estimate the downlink channelbased on the DMRS 526. The receiver, at 530, may determine the locationsof the best/worst REs. At 534, the receiver may demap the received datausing dynamic modulation, if active. In instances where the dynamicmodulation is active, the best/worst REs may have a higher/lowermodulation than that indicated within a DCI of PDSCH 532. The receiver,at 536, may than decode the data based on the dynamic modulation.

FIG. 6 is a call flow diagram 600 of signaling between a UE 602 and abase station 604. The base station 604 may be configured to provide atleast one cell. The UE 602 may be configured to communicate with thebase station 604. For example, in the context of FIG. 1 , the basestation 604 may correspond to base station 102 and. Further, a UE 602may correspond to at least UE 104. In another example, in the context ofFIG. 3 , the base station 604 may correspond to base station 310 and theUE 602 may correspond to UE 350.

At 606, the UE 602 may transmit a CSF report to the base station 604.The base station 604 may receive the CSF report from the UE 602. The CSFreport may comprise an indication identifying a first subset of REshaving a highest quality from a set of RBs and a second subset of REshaving a lowest quality from the set of RBs. In some aspects, the CSFreport may be based on at least one of channel state informationreference signal (CSI-RS) or demodulation reference signal (DMRS)measured at the UE.

At 608, the UE 602 may select one or more REs from the first subset ofREs or the second subset of REs for the modulation selection procedurebased at least on the CSF report. In some aspects, a number of REsselected for the modulation selection procedure may be relative to anallocation of a total number of REs or based on a percentage amount ofthe total number of REs.

At 610, the UE 602 may the UE may transmit an SRS. The UE may transmitthe SRS to the base station 604. The UE may transmit the SRS to allowfor estimation of a downlink channel. The UE may transmit the SRS toallow for the estimation of the downlink channel based on a channelreciprocity between an uplink channel and a downlink channel between theUE and the network entity.

At 612, the UE 602 may estimate the downlink channel and locations ofthe first subset of REs or the second subset of REs for the modulationselection procedure. For example, 808 may be performed by activationcomponent 198 of apparatus 904. In some aspects, estimation of thedownlink channel may be based on a demodulation reference signal (DMRS)or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) measured at theUE.

At 614, the base station 604 may estimate the downlink channel andlocations of the first subset of REs or the second subset of REs for themodulation selection procedure. In some aspects, the estimation of thedownlink channel is based on SRS received at the base station.

At 616, the base station 604 may determine to activate a modulationselection procedure. In some aspects, the determination to activate themodulation selection procedure may be based on a CSF report from the UE.

At 618, the base station 604 may provide an activation indicationindicating that the modulation selection procedure is activated. Thebase station may provide the activation indication to the UE 602. The UE602 may receive the activation indication from the base station 604. Theactivation indication may indicate the first modulation for the firstsubset of REs and the second modulation for the second subset of REs. Insome aspects, the activation indication is provided via RRC, DCI, orMAC-CE.

At 620, the base station 604 may assign a set of REs used for themodulation selection procedure. The set of REs may comprise a firstsubset of REs within the set of REs having a first modulation and asecond subset of REs within the set of REs having a second modulation inresponse to a determination to activate the modulation selectionprocedure. The first modulation may have a higher modulation rate thanthe second modulation. In some aspects, a number of REs selected for themodulation selection procedure may be relative to an allocation of atotal number of REs or based on a percentage amount of the total numberof REs. In some aspects, the first modulation may be greater than an MCSindicated for a current slot. For example, the first modulation maycomprise 64 QAM or 32 QAM, while the MCS indicated in the DCI maycomprise 16 QAM. In some aspects, the second modulation may be less thanthe MCS indicated for the current slot. For example, the secondmodulation may comprise 8 QAM or 4 QAM, while the MCS indicated in theDCI may comprise 16 QAM. In some aspects, the first modulation and thesecond modulation may be different than a modulation indicated in theDCI associated with the downlink communication. In some aspects, thefirst subset of REs may have a higher quality than the second subset ofREs. In some aspects, the first subset of REs may have the higherquality in comparison to other REs within the set of REs. In someaspects, the second subset of REs may have the lowest quality incomparison to the other REs within the set of REs. In some aspects, thefirst subset of REs having the highest or higher quality or the secondsubset of REs having the lowest or lower quality may be based on anaverage quality of all the REs within one or more RBs. The lowest orlower quality or the highest or higher quality may be based on athreshold. In some aspects, the highest or higher quality may be greaterthan the average quality by the threshold. In some aspects, the lowestor lower quality may be less than the average quality by the threshold.

At 622, the base station 604 may transmit the downlink communicationbased on the modulation selection procedure. The base station maytransmit the downlink communication to the UE 602. The UE 602 mayreceive the downlink communication from the base station 604. The basestation may transmit the downlink communication based on the modulationselection procedure. In some aspects, the downlink communication may bedemodulated, by the UE, based at least on the first modulation and thesecond modulation.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart 700 of a method of wireless communication. Themethod may be performed by a UE (e.g., the UE 104; the apparatus 904).One or more of the illustrated operations may be omitted, transposed, orcontemporaneous. The method may allow a UE to receive downlinkcommunication based on a modulation selection procedure.

At 702, the UE may receive an activation indication of a modulationselection procedure and a set of REs used for the modulation selectionprocedure. For example, 702 may be performed by activation component 198of apparatus 904. The UE may receive the activation indication from anetwork entity. The activation indication may indicate a firstmodulation for a first subset of REs within the set of REs and a secondmodulation for a second subset of REs within the set of REs. The firstsubset of REs may have a higher quality than the second subset of REs.In some aspects, the first subset of REs may have the higher quality incomparison to other REs within the set of REs. In some aspects, thesecond subset of REs may have the lowest quality in comparison to theother REs within the set of REs. In some aspects, the activationindication indicating the activation of the modulation selectionprocedure may be received via radio resource control (RRC), downlinkcontrol information (DCI), or media access control (MAC) control element(CE) (MAC-CE). In some aspects, the first modulation may be greater thanan MCS indicated for a current slot. For example, the first modulationmay comprise 64 QAM or 32 QAM, while the MCS indicated in the DCI maycomprise 16 QAM. In some aspects, the second modulation may be less thanthe MCS indicated for the current slot. For example, the secondmodulation may comprise 8 QAM or 4 QAM, while the MCS indicated in theDCI may comprise 16 QAM. In some aspects, the first modulation and thesecond modulation may be different than a modulation indicated in theDCI associated with the downlink communication. In some aspects, thefirst subset of REs having the highest or higher quality or the secondsubset of REs having the lowest or lower quality may be based on anaverage quality of all the REs within one or more RBs. The lowest orlower quality or the highest or higher quality may be based on athreshold. In some aspects, the highest or higher quality may be greaterthan the average quality by the threshold. In some aspects, the lowestor lower quality may be less than the average quality by the threshold.

At 704, the UE may receive downlink communication based on themodulation selection procedure. For example, 704 may be performed byactivation component 198 of apparatus 904. The UE may receive thedownlink communication based on the modulation selection procedure fromthe network entity. In some aspects, the downlink communication may bedemodulated based at least on the first modulation and the secondmodulation.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart 800 of a method of wireless communication. Themethod may be performed by a UE (e.g., the UE 104; the apparatus 904).The method may allow a UE to receive downlink communication based on amodulation selection procedure.

At 802, the UE may transmit a CSF report. For example, 802 may beperformed by activation component 198 of apparatus 904. The UE maytransmit the CSF report to the network entity. The CSF report maycomprise an indication identifying the first subset of REs having ahighest quality from a set of RBs and the second subset of REs having alowest quality from the set of RBs. In some aspects, the CSF report maybe based on at least one of CSI-RS or DMRS measured at the UE.

At 804, the UE may select one or more REs from the first subset of REsor the second subset of REs for the modulation selection procedure. Forexample, 804 may be performed by activation component 198 of apparatus904. The UE may select one or more REs from the first subset of REs orthe second subset of REs for the modulation selection procedure based atleast on the CSF report. In some aspects, a number of REs selected forthe modulation selection procedure may be relative to an allocation of atotal number of REs or based on a percentage amount of the total numberof REs.

At 806, the UE may transmit an SRS. For example, 806 may be performed byactivation component 198 of apparatus 904. The UE may transmit the SRSto the network entity. The UE may transmit the SRS to allow forestimation of a downlink channel. The UE may transmit the SRS to allowfor the estimation of the downlink channel based on a channelreciprocity between an uplink channel and a downlink channel between theUE and the network entity.

At 808, the UE may estimate the downlink channel and locations of thefirst subset of REs or the second subset of REs for the modulationselection procedure. For example, 808 may be performed by activationcomponent 198 of apparatus 904. In some aspects, estimation of thedownlink channel may be based on a DMRS or a CSI-RS measured at the UE.

At 810, the UE may receive an activation indication of a modulationselection procedure and a set of REs used for the modulation selectionprocedure. For example, 810 may be performed by activation component 198of apparatus 904. The UE may receive the activation indication from anetwork entity. The activation indication may indicate a firstmodulation for a first subset of REs within the set of REs and a secondmodulation for a second subset of REs within the set of REs. The firstsubset of REs may have a higher quality than the second subset of REs.In some aspects, the first subset of REs may have the higher quality incomparison to other REs within the set of REs. In some aspects, thesecond subset of REs may have the lowest quality in comparison to theother REs within the set of REs. In some aspects, the activationindication indicating the activation of the modulation selectionprocedure may be received via radio resource control (RRC), downlinkcontrol information (DCI), or media access control (MAC) control element(CE) (MAC-CE). In some aspects, the first modulation may be greater thanan MCS indicated for a current slot. For example, the first modulationmay comprise 64 QAM or 32 QAM, while the MCS indicated in the DCI maycomprise 16 QAM. In some aspects, the second modulation may be less thanthe MCS indicated for the current slot. For example, the secondmodulation may comprise 8 QAM or 4 QAM, while the MCS indicated in theDCI may comprise 16 QAM. In some aspects, the first modulation and thesecond modulation may be different than a modulation indicated in theDCI associated with the downlink communication. In some aspects, thefirst subset of REs having the highest or higher quality or the secondsubset of REs having the lowest or lower quality may be based on anaverage quality of all the REs within one or more RBs. The lowest orlower quality or the highest or higher quality may be based on athreshold. In some aspects, the highest or higher quality may be greaterthan the average quality by the threshold. In some aspects, the lowestor lower quality may be less than the average quality by the threshold.

At 812, the UE may receive downlink communication based on themodulation selection procedure. For example, 812 may be performed byactivation component 198 of apparatus 904. The UE may receive thedownlink communication based on the modulation selection procedure fromthe network entity. In some aspects, the downlink communication may bedemodulated based at least on the first modulation and the secondmodulation.

FIG. 9 is a diagram 900 illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for an apparatus 904. The apparatus 904 may be a UE, acomponent of a UE, or may implement UE functionality. In some aspects,the apparatus 904 may include a cellular baseband processor 924 (alsoreferred to as a modem) coupled to one or more transceivers 922 (e.g.,cellular RF transceiver). The cellular baseband processor 924 mayinclude on-chip memory 924′. In some aspects, the apparatus 904 mayfurther include one or more subscriber identity modules (SIM) cards 920and an application processor 906 coupled to a secure digital (SD) card908 and a screen 910. The application processor 906 may include on-chipmemory 906′. In some aspects, the apparatus 904 may further include aBluetooth module 912, a WLAN module 914, an SPS module 916 (e.g., GNSSmodule), one or more sensor modules 918 (e.g., barometric pressuresensor/altimeter; motion sensor such as inertial management unit (IMU),gyroscope, and/or accelerometer(s); light detection and ranging (LIDAR),radio assisted detection and ranging (RADAR), sound navigation andranging (SONAR), magnetometer, audio and/or other technologies used forpositioning), additional memory modules 926, a power supply 930, and/ora camera 932. The Bluetooth module 912, the WLAN module 914, and the SPSmodule 916 may include an on-chip transceiver (TRX) (or in some cases,just a receiver (RX)). The Bluetooth module 912, the WLAN module 914,and the SPS module 916 may include their own dedicated antennas and/orutilize the antennas 980 for communication. The cellular basebandprocessor 924 communicates through the transceiver(s) 922 via one ormore antennas 980 with the UE 104 and/or with an RU associated with anetwork entity 902. The cellular baseband processor 924 and theapplication processor 906 may each include a computer-readablemedium/memory 924′, 906′, respectively. The additional memory modules926 may also be considered a computer-readable medium/memory. Eachcomputer-readable medium/memory 924′, 906′, 926 may be non-transitory.The cellular baseband processor 924 and the application processor 906are each responsible for general processing, including the execution ofsoftware stored on the computer-readable medium/memory. The software,when executed by the cellular baseband processor 924/applicationprocessor 906, causes the cellular baseband processor 924/applicationprocessor 906 to perform the various functions described supra. Thecomputer-readable medium/memory may also be used for storing data thatis manipulated by the cellular baseband processor 924/applicationprocessor 906 when executing software. The cellular baseband processor924/application processor 906 may be a component of the UE 350 and mayinclude the memory 360 and/or at least one of the TX processor 368, theRX processor 356, and the controller/processor 359. In oneconfiguration, the apparatus 904 may be a processor chip (modem and/orapplication) and include just the cellular baseband processor 924 and/orthe application processor 906, and in another configuration, theapparatus 904 may be the entire UE (e.g., see 350 of FIG. 3 ) andinclude the additional modules of the apparatus 904.

As discussed supra, the component 198 is configured to receive anactivation indication indicating an activation of a modulation selectionprocedure and a set of resource elements (REs) used for the modulationselection procedure, the activation indication indicating a firstmodulation for a first subset of REs within the set of REs and a secondmodulation for a second subset of REs within the set of REs, the firstsubset of REs having a higher quality than the second subset of REs; andreceive downlink communication based on the modulation selectionprocedure. The component 198 may be within the cellular basebandprocessor 924, the application processor 906, or both the cellularbaseband processor 924 and the application processor 906. The component198 may be one or more hardware components specifically configured tocarry out the stated processes/algorithm, implemented by one or moreprocessors configured to perform the stated processes/algorithm, storedwithin a computer-readable medium for implementation by one or moreprocessors, or some combination thereof. As shown, the apparatus 904 mayinclude a variety of components configured for various functions. In oneconfiguration, the apparatus 904, and in particular the cellularbaseband processor 924 and/or the application processor 906, includesmeans for receiving an activation indication indicating an activation ofa modulation selection procedure and a set of REs used for themodulation selection procedure. The activation indication indicating afirst modulation for a first subset of REs within the set of REs and asecond modulation for a second subset of REs within the set of REs. Thefirst subset of REs having a higher quality than the second subset ofREs. The apparatus includes means for receiving downlink communicationbased on the modulation selection procedure. The apparatus furtherincludes means for transmitting a channel state feedback (CSF) reportcomprising an indication identifying the first subset of REs having ahighest quality from a set of RBs and the second subset of REs having alowest quality from the set of RBs. The apparatus further includes meansfor selecting one or more REs from the first subset of REs or the secondsubset of REs for the modulation selection procedure based at least onthe CSF report. The apparatus further includes means for transmitting aSRS to allow for estimation of a downlink channel based on channelreciprocity between an uplink channel and a downlink channel. Theapparatus further includes means for estimating the downlink channel andlocations of the first subset of REs or the second subset of REs for themodulation selection procedure. The means may be the component 198 ofthe apparatus 904 configured to perform the functions recited by themeans. As described supra, the apparatus 904 may include the TXprocessor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller/processor 359.As such, in one configuration, the means may be the TX processor 368,the RX processor 356, and/or the controller/processor 359 configured toperform the functions recited by the means.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart 1000 of a method of wireless communication. Themethod may be performed by a base station (e.g., the base station 102;the network entity 1202. One or more of the illustrated operations maybe omitted, transposed, or contemporaneous. The method may allow anetwork entity to transmit downlink communication utilizing a modulationselection procedure.

At 1002, the network entity may determine to activate a modulationselection procedure. For example, 1002 may be performed by selectioncomponent 199 of network entity 1202. In some aspects, the determinationto activate the modulation selection procedure is based on a CSF reportfrom the UE.

At 1004, the network entity may assign a set of REs used for themodulation selection procedure. For example, 1004 may be performed byselection component 199 of network entity 1202. The set of REs maycomprise a first subset of REs within the set of REs having a firstmodulation and a second subset of REs within the set of REs having asecond modulation in response to a determination to activate themodulation selection procedure. The first modulation may have a highermodulation rate than the second modulation. The first subset of REs mayhave a higher quality than the second subset of REs. In some aspects,the first subset of REs may have the higher quality in comparison toother REs within the set of REs. In some aspects, the second subset ofREs may have the lowest quality in comparison to the other REs withinthe set of REs. In some aspects, a number of REs selected for themodulation selection procedure may be relative to an allocation of atotal number of REs or based on a percentage amount of the total numberof REs. In some aspects, the first modulation may be greater than an MCSindicated for a current slot. For example, the first modulation maycomprise 64 QAM or 32 QAM, while the MCS indicated in the DCI maycomprise 16 QAM. In some aspects, the second modulation may be less thanthe MCS indicated for the current slot. For example, the secondmodulation may comprise 8 QAM or 4 QAM, while the MCS indicated in theDCI may comprise 16 QAM. In some aspects, the first modulation and thesecond modulation may be different than a modulation indicated in theDCI associated with the downlink communication.

At 1006, the network entity may transmit the downlink communicationbased on the modulation selection procedure. For example, 1006 may beperformed by selection component 199 of network entity 1202. The networkentity may transmit the downlink communication, to the UE, based on themodulation selection procedure.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart 1100 of a method of wireless communication. Themethod may be performed by a base station (e.g., the base station 102;the network entity 1202. One or more of the illustrated operations maybe omitted, transposed, or contemporaneous. The method may allow anetwork entity to transmit downlink communication utilizing a modulationselection procedure.

At 1102, the network entity may obtain a CSF report. For example, 1102may be performed by selection component 199 of network entity 1202. Thenetwork entity may obtain the CSF report from the UE. The CSF report maycomprise an indication identifying the first subset of REs having ahighest quality from a set of RBs and the second subset of REs having alowest quality from the set of RBs. In some aspects, the CSF report maybe based on at least one of CSI-RS or DMRS measured at the UE. In someaspects, the set of REs used for the modulation selection procedure maybe based on the CSF report.

At 1104, the network entity may obtain an SRS. For example, 1104 may beperformed by selection component 199 of network entity 1202. The networkentity may obtain the SRS from the UE. The network entity obtaining theSRS may allow for estimation of a downlink channel based on channelreciprocity between an uplink channel and the downlink channel betweenthe UE and the network entity.

At 1106, the network entity may estimate the downlink channel andlocations of the first subset of REs or the second subset of REs for themodulation selection procedure. For example, 1106 may be performed byselection component 199 of network entity 1202. In some aspects, theestimation of the downlink channel is based on SRS received at thenetwork entity.

At 1108, the network entity may determine to activate a modulationselection procedure. For example, 1108 may be performed by selectioncomponent 199 of network entity 1202. In some aspects, the determinationto activate the modulation selection procedure is based on a CSF reportfrom the UE.

At 1110, the network entity may provide an activation indicationindicating that the modulation selection procedure is activated. Forexample, 1110 may be performed by selection component 199 of networkentity 1202. The activation indication may indicate the first modulationfor the first subset of REs and the second modulation for the secondsubset of REs. In some aspects, the activation indication is providedvia RRC, DCI, or MAC-CE.

At 1112, the network entity may assign a set of REs used for themodulation selection procedure. For example, 1112 may be performed byselection component 199 of network entity 1202. The set of REs maycomprise a first subset of REs within the set of REs having a firstmodulation and a second subset of REs within the set of REs having asecond modulation in response to a determination to activate themodulation selection procedure. The first modulation may have a highermodulation rate than the second modulation. The first subset of REs mayhave a higher quality than the second subset of REs. In some aspects,the first subset of REs may have the higher quality in comparison toother REs within the set of REs. In some aspects, the second subset ofREs may have the lowest quality in comparison to the other REs withinthe set of REs. In some aspects, a number of REs selected for themodulation selection procedure may be relative to an allocation of atotal number of REs or based on a percentage amount of the total numberof REs. In some aspects, the first modulation may be greater than an MCSindicated for a current slot. For example, the first modulation maycomprise 64 QAM or 32 QAM, while the MCS indicated in the DCI maycomprise 16 QAM. In some aspects, the second modulation may be less thanthe MCS indicated for the current slot. For example, the secondmodulation may comprise 8 QAM or 4 QAM, while the MCS indicated in theDCI may comprise 16 QAM. In some aspects, the first modulation and thesecond modulation may be different than a modulation indicated in theDCI associated with the downlink communication.

At 1114, the network entity may transmit the downlink communicationbased on the modulation selection procedure. For example, 1114 may beperformed by selection component 199 of network entity 1202. The networkentity may transmit the downlink communication, to the UE, based on themodulation selection procedure.

FIG. 12 is a diagram 1200 illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for a network entity 1202. The network entity 1202 may bea BS, a component of a BS, or may implement BS functionality. Thenetwork entity 1202 may include at least one of a CU 1210, a DU 1230, oran RU 1240. For example, depending on the layer functionality handled bythe component 199, the network entity 1202 may include the CU 1210; boththe CU 1210 and the DU 1230; each of the CU 1210, the DU 1230, and theRU 1240; the DU 1230; both the DU 1230 and the RU 1240; or the RU 1240.The CU 1210 may include a CU processor 1212. The CU processor 1212 mayinclude on-chip memory 1212′. In some aspects, the CU 1210 may furtherinclude additional memory modules 1214 and a communications interface1218. The CU 1210 communicates with the DU 1230 through a midhaul link,such as an F1 interface. The DU 1230 may include a DU processor 1232.The DU processor 1232 may include on-chip memory 1232′. In some aspects,the DU 1230 may further include additional memory modules 1234 and acommunications interface 1238. The DU 1230 communicates with the RU 1240through a fronthaul link. The RU 1240 may include an RU processor 1242.The RU processor 1242 may include on-chip memory 1242′. In some aspects,the RU 1240 may further include additional memory modules 1244, one ormore transceivers 1246, antennas 1280, and a communications interface1248. The RU 1240 communicates with the UE 104. The on-chip memory1212′, 1232′, 1242′ and the additional memory modules 1214, 1234, 1244may each be considered a computer-readable medium/memory. Eachcomputer-readable medium/memory may be non-transitory. Each of theprocessors 1212, 1232, 1242 is responsible for general processing,including the execution of software stored on the computer-readablemedium/memory. The software, when executed by the correspondingprocessor(s) causes the processor(s) to perform the various functionsdescribed supra. The computer-readable medium/memory may also be usedfor storing data that is manipulated by the processor(s) when executingsoftware.

As discussed supra, the component 199 is configured to determine toactivate a modulation selection procedure; assign a set of resourceelements (REs) used for the modulation selection procedure, the set ofREs comprising a first subset of REs within the set of REs having afirst modulation and a second subset of REs within the set of REs havinga second modulation in response to a determination to activate themodulation selection procedure, the first modulation having a highermodulation rate than the second modulation, the first subset of REshaving a higher quality than the second subset of REs; and transmitdownlink communication based on the modulation selection procedure. Thecomponent 199 may be within one or more processors of one or more of theCU 1210, DU 1230, and the RU 1240. The component 199 may be one or morehardware components specifically configured to carry out the statedprocesses/algorithm, implemented by one or more processors configured toperform the stated processes/algorithm, stored within acomputer-readable medium for implementation by one or more processors,or some combination thereof. The network entity 1202 may include avariety of components configured for various functions. In oneconfiguration, the network entity 1202 includes means for determining toactivate a modulation selection procedure. The network entity includesmeans for assigning a set of REs used for the modulation selectionprocedure. The set of REs comprising a first subset of REs within theset of REs having a first modulation and a second subset of REs withinthe set of REs having a second modulation in response to a determinationto activate the modulation selection procedure, the first modulationhaving a higher modulation rate than the second modulation, the firstsubset of REs having a higher quality than the second subset of REs. Thenetwork entity includes means for transmitting downlink communicationbased on the modulation selection procedure. The network entity furtherincludes means for providing an activation indication indicating thatthe modulation selection procedure is activated. The activationindication indicating the first modulation for the first subset of REsand the second modulation for the second subset of REs. The networkentity further includes means for obtaining a CSF report comprising anindication identifying the first subset of REs having a highest qualityfrom a set of RBs and the second subset of REs having a lowest qualityfrom the set of RBs. The network entity further includes means forobtaining a SRS to allow for estimation of a downlink channel based onchannel reciprocity between an uplink channel and the downlink channel.The network entity further includes means for estimating the downlinkchannel and locations of the first subset of REs or the second subset ofREs for the modulation selection procedure. The means may be thecomponent 199 of the network entity 1202 configured to perform thefunctions recited by the means. As described supra, the network entity1202 may include the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and thecontroller/processor 375. As such, in one configuration, the means maybe the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and/or thecontroller/processor 375 configured to perform the functions recited bythe means.

It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in theprocesses/flowcharts disclosed is an illustration of example approaches.Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific orderor hierarchy of blocks in the processes/flowcharts may be rearranged.Further, some blocks may be combined or omitted. The accompanying methodclaims present elements of the various blocks in a sample order, and arenot limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not limited to the aspects describedherein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistent with thelanguage claims. Reference to an element in the singular does not mean“one and only one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “one ormore.” Terms such as “if,” “when,” and “while” do not imply an immediatetemporal relationship or reaction. That is, these phrases, e.g., “when,”do not imply an immediate action in response to or during the occurrenceof an action, but simply imply that if a condition is met then an actionwill occur, but without requiring a specific or immediate timeconstraint for the action to occur. The word “exemplary” is used hereinto mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspectdescribed herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other aspects. Unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. Combinations such as“at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, or C,” “at least oneof A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or anycombination thereof” include any combination of A, B, and/or C, and mayinclude multiples of A, multiples of B, or multiples of C. Specifically,combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B,or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and“A, B, C, or any combination thereof” may be A only, B only, C only, Aand B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, where any such combinationsmay contain one or more member or members of A, B, or C. Sets should beinterpreted as a set of elements where the elements number one or more.Accordingly, for a set of X, X would include one or more elements. If afirst apparatus receives data from or transmits data to a secondapparatus, the data may be received/transmitted directly between thefirst and second apparatuses, or indirectly between the first and secondapparatuses through a set of apparatuses. All structural and functionalequivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughoutthis disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those ofordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by referenceand are encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein isdedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure isexplicitly recited in the claims. The words “module,” “mechanism,”“element,” “device,” and the like may not be a substitute for the word“means.” As such, no claim element is to be construed as a means plusfunction unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “meansfor.”

As used herein, the phrase “based on” shall not be construed as areference to a closed set of information, one or more conditions, one ormore factors, or the like. In other words, the phrase “based on A”(where “A” may be information, a condition, a factor, or the like) shallbe construed as “based at least on A” unless specifically reciteddifferently.

The following aspects are illustrative only and may be combined withother aspects or teachings described herein, without limitation.

Aspect 1 is a method of wireless communication at a UE comprisingreceiving an activation indication indicating an activation of amodulation selection procedure and a set of REs used for the modulationselection procedure, the activation indication indicating a firstmodulation for a first subset of REs within the set of REs and a secondmodulation for a second subset of REs within the set of REs, the firstsubset of REs having a higher quality than the second subset of REs; andreceiving downlink communication based on the modulation selectionprocedure.

Aspect 2 is the method of aspect 1, further including transmitting a CSFreport comprising an indication identifying the first subset of REshaving a highest quality from a set of RBs and the second subset of REshaving a lowest quality from the set of RBs; and selecting one or moreREs from the first subset of REs or the second subset of REs for themodulation selection procedure based at least on the CSF report.

Aspect 3 is the method of any of aspects 1 and 2, further includes thata number of REs selected for the modulation selection procedure arerelative to an allocation of a total number of REs or based on apercentage amount of the total number of REs.

Aspect 4 is the method of any of aspects 1-3, further includes that theCSF report is based on at least one of CSI-RS or DMRS measured at theUE.

Aspect 5 is the method of any of aspects 1-4, further includingtransmitting a sounding reference signal (SRS) to allow for estimationof a downlink channel based on channel reciprocity between an uplinkchannel and the downlink channel; and estimating the downlink channeland locations of the first subset of REs or the second subset of REs forthe modulation selection procedure.

Aspect 6 is the method of any of aspects 1-5, further includes that theestimation of the downlink channel is based on a DMRS or a CSI-RSmeasured at the UE.

Aspect 7 is the method of any of aspects 1-6, further includes that theactivation indication indicating the activation of the modulationselection procedure is RRC, DCI, or MAC-CE.

Aspect 8 is the method of any of aspects 1-7, further includes that thefirst modulation is greater than an MCS indicated for a current slot,wherein the second modulation is less than the MCS indicated for thecurrent slot.

Aspect 9 is the method of any of aspects 1-8, further includes that thefirst modulation and the second modulation are different than amodulation indicated in DCI associated with the downlink communication.

Aspect 10 is the method of any of aspects 1-9, further includes that thefirst subset of REs having the higher quality or the second subset ofREs having the lower quality are based on an average quality of all theREs within one or more RBs.

Aspect 11 is the method of any of aspects 1-10, further includes thatthe lower quality or the higher quality is based on a threshold, whereinthe higher quality is greater than the average quality by the threshold,and the lower quality is less than the average quality by the threshold.

Aspect 12 is the method of any of aspects 1-11, further includes thatthe downlink communication is demodulated based on the first modulationand the second modulation.

Aspect 13 is an apparatus for wireless communication at a UE includingat least one processor coupled to a memory and at least one transceiver,the at least one processor configured to implement any of Aspects 1-12.

Aspect 14 is an apparatus for wireless communication at a UE includingmeans for implementing any of Aspects 1-12.

Aspect 15 is a computer-readable medium storing computer executablecode, where the code when executed by a processor causes the processorto implement any of Aspects 1-12.

Aspect 16 is a method of wireless of wireless communication at a networkentity comprising determining to activate a modulation selectionprocedure; assigning a set of REs used for the modulation selectionprocedure, the set of REs comprising a first subset of REs within theset of REs having a first modulation and a second subset of REs withinthe set of REs having a second modulation in response to a determinationto activate the modulation selection procedure, the first modulationhaving a higher modulation rate than the second modulation, the firstsubset of REs having a higher quality than the second subset of REs; andtransmitting downlink communication based on the modulation selectionprocedure.

Aspect 17 is the method of aspect 16, further including providing anactivation indication indicating that the modulation selection procedureis activated, the activation indication indicating the first modulationfor the first subset of REs and the second modulation for the secondsubset of REs.

Aspect 18 is the method of any of aspects 16 and 17, further includesthat the activation indication is provided via RRC, DCI, or MAC-CE.

Aspect 19 is the method of any of aspects 16-18, further includingobtaining a CSF report comprising an indication identifying the firstsubset of REs having a highest quality from a set of RBs and the secondsubset of REs having a lowest quality from the set of RBs.

Aspect 20 is the method of any of aspects 16-19, further includes thatthe determination to activate the modulation selection procedure isbased on the CSF report.

Aspect 21 is the method of any of aspects 16-20, further includes thatthe CSF report is based on at least one of CSI-RS or DMRS measured at aUE.

Aspect 22 is the method of any of aspects 16-21, further includes thatthe set of REs used for the modulation selection procedure is based onthe CSF report.

Aspect 23 is the method of any of aspects 16-22, further includingobtaining a SRS to allow for estimation of a downlink channel based onchannel reciprocity between an uplink channel and the downlink channel;and estimating the downlink channel and locations of the first subset ofREs or the second subset of REs for the modulation selection procedure.

Aspect 24 is the method of any of aspects 16-23, further includes thatthe estimation of the downlink channel is based on SRS received at thenetwork entity.

Aspect 25 is the method of any of aspects 16-24, further includes that anumber of REs selected for the modulation selection procedure arerelative to an allocation of a total number of REs or based on apercentage amount of the total number of REs.

Aspect 26 is the method of any of aspects 16-25, further includes thatthe first modulation is greater than an MCS indicated for a currentslot, wherein the second modulation is less than the MCS indicated forthe current slot.

Aspect 27 is the method of any of aspects 16-26, further includes thatthe first modulation and the second modulation are different than amodulation indicated in a DCI associated with the downlinkcommunication.

Aspect 28 is an apparatus for wireless communication at a network entityincluding at least one processor coupled to a memory and at least onetransceiver, the at least one processor configured to implement any ofAspects 16-27.

Aspect 29 is an apparatus for wireless communication at a UE includingmeans for implementing any of Aspects 16-27.

Aspect 30 is a computer-readable medium storing computer executablecode, where the code when executed by a processor causes the processorto implement any of Aspects 16-27.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for wireless communication at a userequipment (UE), comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupledto the memory and, based at least in part on information stored in thememory, the at least one processor is configured to: receive anactivation indication indicating an activation of a modulation selectionprocedure and a set of resource elements (REs) used for the modulationselection procedure, the activation indication indicating a firstmodulation for a first subset of REs within the set of REs and a secondmodulation for a second subset of REs within the set of REs, the firstsubset of REs having a higher quality than the second subset of REs; andreceive downlink communication based on the modulation selectionprocedure.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a transceivercoupled to the at least one processor.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: transmit achannel state feedback (CSF) report comprising an indication identifyingthe first subset of REs having a highest quality from a set of resourceblocks (RBs) and the second subset of REs having a lowest quality fromthe set of RBs; and select one or more REs from the first subset of REsor the second subset of REs for the modulation selection procedure basedat least on the CSF report.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein anumber of REs selected for the modulation selection procedure arerelative to an allocation of a total number of REs or based on apercentage amount of the total number of REs.
 5. The apparatus of claim3, wherein the CSF report is based on at least one of channel stateinformation reference signal (CSI-RS) or demodulation reference signal(DMRS) measured at the UE.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the atleast one processor is further configured to: transmit a soundingreference signal (SRS) to allow for estimation of a downlink channelbased on channel reciprocity between an uplink channel and the downlinkchannel; and estimate the downlink channel and locations of the firstsubset of REs or the second subset of REs for the modulation selectionprocedure.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the estimation of thedownlink channel is based on a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) or achannel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) measured at the UE.8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the activation indicationindicating the activation of the modulation selection procedure isreceived via radio resource control (RRC), downlink control information(DCI), or media access control (MAC) control element (CE) (MAC-CE). 9.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first modulation is greater thanan MCS indicated for a current slot, wherein the second modulation isless than the MCS indicated for the current slot.
 10. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the first modulation and the second modulation aredifferent than a modulation indicated in a downlink control information(DCI) associated with the downlink communication.
 11. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the first subset of REs having the higher quality orthe second subset of REs having a lower quality are based on an averagequality of all the REs within one or more RBs.
 12. The apparatus ofclaim 11, wherein the lower quality or the higher quality is based on athreshold, wherein the higher quality is greater than the averagequality by the threshold, and the lower quality is less than the averagequality by the threshold.
 13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thedownlink communication is demodulated based on the first modulation andthe second modulation.
 14. A method of wireless communication at a userequipment (UE), comprising: receiving an activation indicationindicating an activation of a modulation selection procedure and a setof resource elements (REs) used for the modulation selection procedure,the activation indication indicating a first modulation for a firstsubset of REs within the set of REs and a second modulation for a secondsubset of REs within the set of REs, the first subset of REs having ahigher quality than the second subset of REs; and receiving downlinkcommunication based on the modulation selection procedure.
 15. Themethod of claim 14, further comprising: transmitting a channel statefeedback (CSF) report comprising an indication identifying the firstsubset of REs having a highest quality from a set of resource blocks(RBs) and the second subset of REs having a lowest quality from the setof RBs; and selecting one or more REs from the first subset of REs orthe second subset of REs for the modulation selection procedure based atleast on the CSF report.
 16. An apparatus for wireless communication ata network entity, comprising: a memory; and at least one processorcoupled to the memory and, based at least in part on information storedin the memory, the at least one processor is configured to: determine toactivate a modulation selection procedure; assign a set of resourceelements (REs) used for the modulation selection procedure, the set ofREs comprising a first subset of REs within the set of REs having afirst modulation and a second subset of REs within the set of REs havinga second modulation in response to a determination to activate themodulation selection procedure, the first modulation having a highermodulation rate than the second modulation, the first subset of REshaving a higher quality than the second subset of REs; and transmitdownlink communication based on the modulation selection procedure. 17.The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising a transceiver coupled tothe at least one processor.
 18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein theat least one processor is further configured to: provide an activationindication indicating that the modulation selection procedure isactivated, the activation indication indicating the first modulation forthe first subset of REs and the second modulation for the second subsetof REs.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the activation indicationis provided via radio resource control (RRC), downlink controlinformation (DCI), or media access control (MAC) control element (CE)(MAC-CE).
 20. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the at least oneprocessor is further configured to: obtain a channel state feedback(CSF) report comprising an indication identifying the first subset ofREs having a highest quality from a set of resource blocks (RBs) and thesecond subset of REs having a lowest quality from the set of RBs. 21.The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the determination to activate themodulation selection procedure is based on the CSF report.
 22. Theapparatus of claim 20, wherein the CSF report is based on at least oneof channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or demodulationreference signal (DMRS) measured at a user equipment (UE).
 23. Theapparatus of claim 20, wherein the set of REs used for the modulationselection procedure is based on the CSF report.
 24. The apparatus ofclaim 16, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:obtain a sounding reference signal (SRS) to allow for estimation of adownlink channel based on channel reciprocity between an uplink channeland the downlink channel; and estimate the downlink channel andlocations of the first subset of REs or the second subset of REs for themodulation selection procedure.
 25. The apparatus of claim 24, whereinthe estimation of the downlink channel is based on SRS received at thenetwork entity.
 26. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein a number of REsselected for the modulation selection procedure are relative to anallocation of a total number of REs or based on a percentage amount ofthe total number of REs.
 27. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein thefirst modulation is greater than an MCS indicated for a current slot,wherein the second modulation is less than the MCS indicated for thecurrent slot.
 28. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the firstmodulation and the second modulation are different than a modulationindicated in a DCI associated with the downlink communication.
 29. Amethod of wireless communication at a network node, comprising:determining to activate a modulation selection procedure; assigning aset of resource elements (REs) used for the modulation selectionprocedure, the set of REs comprising a first subset of REs within theset of REs having a first modulation and a second subset of REs withinthe set of REs having a second modulation in response to a determinationto activate the modulation selection procedure, the first modulationhaving a higher modulation rate than the second modulation, the firstsubset of REs having a higher quality than the second subset of REs; andtransmit downlink communication based on the modulation selectionprocedure.
 30. The method of claim 29, further comprising: providing anactivation indication indicating that the modulation selection procedureis activated, the activation indication indicating the first modulationfor the first subset of REs and the second modulation for the secondsubset of REs.